Demi & Della's Day in the Life

Documenting Firsts

Poor 1-year-old Demi ejected her dinner as I arrived to spend the night. Her father, Chris, ran for the paper towels. Juliet, Demi’s mom, was stunned.

“She’s never been sick before! There you go, Kim. Document that!”

The night didn’t get better from there. Load after load of laundy was on a cycle of wash, rinse, repeat. By 3 a.m., Juliet was ill, too. What was believed to be a bad fish dinner was turning into something more. None of us slept.

Juliet and her husband Chris were exhausted when Demi woke them the next morning. So Grandma Maryam (who Demi calls Mayam) cared for the family. And that’s when my work day began.

Up. Down. And up and down again.

It was supposed to be a fun day at the water park with Juliet’s visiting sister, Anjella, and little cousin Aubtin. Instead, it was the up and down of fevers and down again in bed for everyone throughout the day.

Chris came from work to check on everyone at lunch but soon after, the only one who was up and well was 9-year-old Della who had come home from a tennis lesson. Since it was just the two of us, she read to me and I taught her to play Scrabble until others woke again.

Moms are Moms are Moms

This job never ends, even when you’re sick. And when Mom is sick, sisters become moms.

Mayam’s devotion to every generation of her family was unyeilding. Juliet’s ability to comfort her child when she, too, needeed comforting bore testiment to a mother’s strength. And Della’s take charge initiative helped immensely when needed most – feeding Demi, entertaining her, hugging her tears away, and playing with a toy diner set practicing her skills to work in the family’s new diner business..

Tenderness in Troubled Times

While the day may not have gone as planned, in some ways, love was more apparent on this day. When times are trying, empathy and compassion rise to the surface. And this family has both in spades.